This book traces the history of language technology from writing - the first
technology specifically designed for language - to digital speech and other
contemporary language systems. The book describes the social impact of
technological developments over five millennia, and addresses topics such as
the ways in which literacy has influenced cognitive and scientific
the social impact of modern speech technology; the influence of various
technologies; the uses and limitations of machine translation; how far mass
information access is a means for exploitation or enlightenment; the
of ancient scripts; and technical aids for people with language disabilities.
Richard Sproat writes in a clear, readable style, introducing linguistic
scientific concepts as they are needed. His book offers fascinating reading
everyone interested in how language and technology have shaped and continue
to shape our day-to-day lives.